Pediatric ENT Conditions & Treatments

The pediatric ENT specialists at Henry Ford Health in the metro Detroit area have experience treating all types of ENT conditions. You can trust us for child- and family-friendly treatment for routine and complex needs.

Ear care

We treat the full range of pediatric ear conditions, including:

• Ear infections (chronic and recurrent): We typically treat chronic ear infections and fluid in the ears in patients who may need ear tubes.
• Hearing loss: Hearing loss can be caused by nerve damage, wax or fluid in the ears, or a hole in the eardrum, which may require surgical intervention or hearing aids.
• Impacted or excessive ear wax: Sometimes children experience hearing loss when they have too much wax buildup. Your doctor can safely remove the wax without damaging the inside of the ear.

Nasal care

Our doctors treat these and other pediatric nasal and sinus conditions:

• Epistaxis: This condition causes frequent nosebleeds. Treatment can include humidification, saline ointment or cauterization.
• Nasal congestion: Chronic nasal congestion may be caused by enlarged adenoids, swelling within the nose, structural blockage of the nose or allergies. Treatment can include nasal spray, antihistamines or surgical intervention.

Throat care

We treat a spectrum of common and rare pediatric throat and voice conditions, including:

• Tonsils and adenoids: Tonsils (in the back of the throat) and adenoids (in the back of the nose) can become enlarged or infected and may need surgical removal if they cause chronic problems.
• Sleep apnea: Sleep apnea results in noisy breathing, snoring or disturbed sleep due to tonsils, adenoids or the structure of the head or face. Children with sleep apnea might need surgical intervention for treatment.
• Swallowing difficulties: Trouble swallowing (dysphagia) is common in children with a cleft lip, cleft palate, displaced tongue and neurological medical conditions. Other children may not know how to or want to swallow (oral aversion). We provide airway and swallowing evaluation and treatment.
• Voice conditions: We treat many different voice conditions in children. Some of these will require speech and language assessment and therapy:
  
  • Hoarseness – Occasional hoarseness from yelling, crying or other activities that strain the vocal cords is not usually a cause for concern. Chronic hoarseness might be a symptom of a vocal cord problem.
  • Hypernasality – Talking through the nose is common with children who have a cleft palate.
  • Hyponasality – Not talking through the nose enough is often due to enlarged adenoids or severe nasal congestion.
  • Laryngeal and vocal cord conditions – Children with chronic hoarseness may have nodules or human papillomavirus (HPV) growing on their larynx or vocal cords. We monitor these growths and recommend surgery if needed.

Head and neck masses

Children can be born with head and neck masses that do not develop until they are older. We provide surgical and nonsurgical treatment for cysts and other masses. Common masses include:

• Branchial cleft cysts
• Periauricular cysts
• Thyroglossal duct cysts

Other pediatric ENT conditions

The pediatric otolaryngologists at Henry Ford have years of experience treating complex conditions involving the face, head, skull and neck:

• Cleft lip and palate
• Congenital anomalies
• Craniofacial abnormalities
• Craniosynotosis

Our doctors are also experts in treating special needs children with syndromes susceptible to ear, nose and throat conditions.

Request an appointment

If your child needs treatment for an ear, nose or throat problem, we can help. Request an appointment today with a Henry Ford pediatric ENT doctor.